Sovereignty advocates have attributed problems plaguing native communities including homelessness, poverty, economic marginalization, and the erosion of native traditions to the lack of native governance and political self-determination.[7][8] They have pursued their agenda through educational initiatives and legislative actions. Along with protests throughout the islands, at the capitol itself as well as the places and locations held as sacred to Hawaiian culture, sovereignty activists have challenged United States forces and law.[9]

Coinciding with other 1960s and 1970s indigenous activist movements, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement was spearheaded by Native Hawaiian activist organizations and individuals who were critical of issues affecting modern Hawaii, including urbanization and commercial development of the islands, corruption in the Hawaiian Homelands program, and the appropriation of native burial grounds and other sacred spaces.[10] During the 1980s the movement gained cultural and political traction and native resistance grew in response to urbanization and native disenfranchisement. Local and federal legislation provided some protection for native communities but did little to quell expanding commercial development.[8]

In 1993 a joint congressional resolution apologized for the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.[10] In 2010, the Akaka Bill passed, which provided a process for US federal recognition of Native Hawaiians and gave ethnic Hawaiians some control over land and natural resource negotiations. However, the bill was opposed by sovereignty groups because of its provisions that legitimized illegal land transfers, and was criticized by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for the effect it would have on non-ethnic Hawaiian populations.[11] A 2005 Grassroot Institute poll found the majority of Hawaiian residents opposed the Akaka Bill.[12]

The ancestors of Native Hawaiians may have arrived in the Hawaiian Islands around 350CE, from other areas of Polynesia.[13] By the time Captain Cook arrived, Hawaii had a well established culture with a population estimated to be between 400,000 and 900,000 people.[13] In the first one hundred years of contact with western civilization, due to war and sickness, the Hawaiian population dropped by ninety percent, with only 53,900 people in 1876.[13] American missionaries would arrive in 1820 and assume great power and influence.[13] Despite formal recognition of the Kingdom of Hawaii by the United States[14] and other world powers, American influence, with assistance from the US Navy, eventually took over the islands, overthrowing their Queen in the process.[13] The kingdom was overthrown beginning January 17, 1893 with a coup d'état orchestrated by, mostly, Americans within the kingdom's legislature, with aid from the United States military.[13][15]

The Blount Report is the popular name given to the part of the 1893 United States House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee Report regarding the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The report was conducted by U.S. Commissioner James H. Blount, appointed by U.S. President Grover Cleveland to investigate the events surrounding the January 1893 coup. This report provides the first evidence that officially identifies the United States' complicity in the lawless overthrow of the lawful, peaceful government of The Sovereign Kingdom of Hawaii.[16] Blount concluded that U.S. Minister to Hawaii John L. Stevens had, in fact, carried out unauthorized partisan activities that included the landing of U.S. Marines under a false or exaggerated pretext to support anti-royalist conspirators; the report went on to find that these actions were instrumental to the success of the revolution and that the revolution was carried out against the wishes of a majority of the population of the Hawaiian Kingdom and/or its Royalty.[17]

On December 14, 1893, Albert Willis arrived unannounced in Honolulu aboard the USRC Corwin, bringing with him an anticipation of an American invasion in order to restore the monarchy, which became known as the Black Week. Willis was the successor to James Blount as United States Minister to Hawaii. With the hysteria of a military assault, he staged a mock invasion with the USS Adams and USS Philadelphia, directing their guns toward the capital. He also ordered rear admiral John Irwin to organize a landing operation using troops on the two American ships, which were joined by the Japanese Naniwa and the British HMS Champion. On January 11, 1894, Willis revealed the invasion to be a hoax.[18][19] After the arrival of the Corwin, the provisional government and citizens of Hawaii were ready to rush to arms if necessary, but it was widely believed that Willis' threat of force was a bluff.[20][21]

On December 16, the British Minister to Hawaii was given permission to land marines from HMS Champion for the protection of British interests; the ship's captain predicted that the Queen and Sovereign ruler (Liliuokalani) would be restored by the U.S. military.[20][21] In a November 1893 meeting with Willis, Liliuokalani indicated that she wanted the revolutionaries punished and their property confiscated, despite Willis' desire for her to grant amnesty to her enemies.[22] In a December 19, 1893 meeting with the leaders of the provisional government, Willis presented a letter written by Liliuokalani, in which she agreed to grant amnesty to the revolutionaries if she was restored as queen. During the conference, Willis told the provisional government to surrender to Liliuokalani and allow Hawaii to return to its previous condition, but the leader of the provisional government, President Sanford Dole, refused to comply with his demands, claiming that he was not subject to the authority of the United States.[21][23][24]

The Blount Report was followed in 1894 by the Morgan Report, which contradicted Blount's report by concluding that all participants except for Queen Liliʻuokalani were "not guilty".[25]:648 U.S. Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham announced on January 10, 1894 that the settlement of the situation in Hawaii would be left up to Congress, following Willis' unsatisfactory progress. Cleveland said that Willis had carried out the letter of his directions, rather than their spirit.[20] Domestic response to Willis' and Cleveland's efforts was largely negative. The independentNew York Herald wrote, "If Minister Willis has not already been ordered to quit meddling in Hawaiian affairs and mind his own business, no time should be lost in giving him emphatic instructions to that effect." The DemocraticNew York World wrote: "Is it not high time to stop the business of interference with the domestic affairs of foreign nations? Hawaii is 2000 miles from our nearest coast. Let it alone." The Democratic New York Sun said: "Mr. Cleveland lacks ... the first essential qualification of a referee or arbitrator." The RepublicanNew York Tribune called Willis' trip a "forlorn and humiliating failure to carry out Mr. Cleveland's outrageous project." The Republican New York Recorder wrote, "The idea of sending out a minister accredited to the President of a new republic, having him present his credentials to that President and address him as 'Great and Good Friend,' and then deliberately set to work to organize a conspiracy to overthrow his Government and re-establish the authority of the deposed Queen, is repugnant to every man who holds American honor and justice in any sort of respect." The Democratic New York Times was one of the few New York newspapers that defended Cleveland's decisions, saying that "Mr. Willis discharged his duty as he understood it."[20]

While there was much opposition and many attempts to restore the kingdom, it became a territory of the US in 1898, without any input from Native Hawaiians.[13] Hawaii became a US state on March 18, 1959 following a referendum in which at least 93% of voters approved of statehood.

The US constitution recognizes Native American tribes as domestic, dependent nations with inherent rights of self-determination through the US government as a trust responsibility, which was extended to include Eskimos, Aleuts and Native Alaskans with the passing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act. Though enactment of 183 federal laws over 90 years, the US has entered into an implicit, rather than explicit trust relationship that does not give formal recognition of a sovereign people having the right of self-determination. Without an explicit law, Native Hawaiians may not be eligible for entitlements, funds and benefits afforded to other US indigenous peoples.[26] Native Hawaiians are recognized by the US government through legislation with a unique status.[13]

The Royal Order of Kamehameha I continues its work in observance and preservation of some native Hawaiian rituals and customs established by the leaders of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. It is often consulted by the U.S. Government, State of Hawaiʻi and the various county governments of Hawaiʻi in native Hawaiian-sensitive rites performed at state functions.[30]

Hui Kālaiʻāina

This organization existed before the overthrow to support a new constitution and was based in Honolulu, Oahu.[31]

Hui Hawaiian Aloha ʻĀina

A highly organized group formed in 1883 from the various islands with a name that reflected Hawaiian cultural beliefs.[31]

Liberal Patriotic Association

The Liberal Patriotic Association was a rebel group formed by Robert William Wilcox, to overturn the Bayonet Constitution. The faction was financed by Chinese businessmen who lost rights under the 1887 Constitution. The movement initiated what became known as the Wilcox Rebellion of 1889, ending in failure with seven dead and 70 captured.[citation needed]

Opposition to the overthrow and annexation included Hui Aloha ʻĀina or the Hawaiian Patriotic League.

Following the annexation of Hawaii, Wilcox formed the Home Rule Party of Hawaii on June 6, 1900. The Party was generally more radical than the Democratic Party of Hawaii. They were able to dominate the Territorial Legislature between 1900 and 1902. But due to their radical and extreme philosophy of Hawaiian nationalism, infighting was prominent. This, in addition to their refusal to work with other parties, meant that they were unable to pass any legislation. Following the election of 1902 they steadily declined until they disbanded in 1912.[citation needed]

The Aboriginal Lands of Hawaiian Ancestry (ALOHA) and the Principality of Aloha[32] were organized sometime in the late 1960s or 70s when the Native Alaskan and American Indian activism was beginning. Native Hawaiians began organizing groups based on their own national interests such as ceded lands, free education, reparations payments, free housing, reform of the Hawaiian Homelands Act and development within the islands.[33] According to Budnick,[34] the group was established by Louisa Rice in 1969. Charles Kauluwehi Maxwell claims that it was organized in the summer of 1972.[35]

ALOHA sought reparations for Native Hawaiians by hiring a former US congressman to write a bill that, while not ratified, did spawn a congressional study. The study was only allowed six months and was accused of relying on biased information from a historian hired by the territorial government that overthrew the kingdom as well as US Navy historians. The commission assigned to the study recommended against reparations.[36]:61

Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi was formed in 1987 as a local grassroots initiative for Hawaiian sovereignty. Mililani Trask was the first leader of the organization.[37] Trask was elected the first kiaʻaina (governor) of Ka Lahui.[38] The organization has a constitution, elected offices and representatives for each island.[39] The group supports US Federal recognition and its independence from the United States[40]:38 and supports inclusion of Native Hawaiians in federal Indian policy.[36]:62 The organization is considered the largest sovereignty movement group, claiming a membership of 21,000 in 1997. One of its goals is to reclaim ceded lands. In 1993, the group led 10,000 people on a march to the Iolani Palace on the 100th anniversary of the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani.[41]

Ka Lāhui and many sovereignty groups oppose the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009 (known as the "Akaka Bill") proposed by Senator Daniel Akaka that begins the process of federal recognition of a Native Hawaiian government, where the US State Department would have government-to-government relations with the US.[42] The group believes that there are concerns with the process and version of the bill.[43] Although Ka Lāhui may oppose the Akaka Bill, its founding member, Mililani Trask, supported the original Akaka Bill and was a member of a group that crafted the original bill.[44] Trask has been critical of the bill's 20-year limitation on all claims against the US, stating: "We would not be able to address the illegal overthrow, address the breach of trust issues." and "We're looking at a terrible history.... That history needs to be remedied."[45]

Kekuni Blaisdell, leader of the organization,[42] is a medical doctor and Founding Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Hawai'i John Burns School of Medicine, who advocates for the independence of Hawaii.[46] The group began in the late 1980s as the Pā Kaukau coalition along with Blaisdell and others to supply information that could support the sovereignty and independence movement.[47]

Blaisdell and the 12 groups that comprise the Ka Pākaukau, believe in a "nation-within-a-nation" concept as a start forward to independence and are willing to negotiate with the President of the United States as "representatives of our nation as co-equals."[48]

In 1993, Blaisdell convened Ka Hoʻokolokolonui Kanaka Maoli, the "People's International Tribunal", which brought indigenous leaders from around the world to Hawaii to put the U.S. Government on trial for the theft of Hawaii's sovereignty, and other related violations of international law. The tribunal found the U.S. guilty, and published its findings in a lengthy document filed with the U.N. Committees on Human Rights and Indigenous Affairs.[49]

The Nation of Hawaiʻi is the oldest Hawaiian independence organization.[50] It is headed by Dennis Pu‘uhonua "Bumpy" Kanahele,[51] who is the group's spokesperson and Head of State.[52] In contrast to other independence organizations which lean to the restoration of the monarchy, it advocates a republican government.

In 1989 the group occupied the area surrounding the Makapuʻu lighthouse on Oʻahu. In 1993 its members occupied Kaupo Beach, near Makapuʻu. Kanahele was a primary leader of the occupation, and was the leader of the group overall. Dennis Pu‘uhonua Kanahele is a descendant of Kamehameha I, eleven generations removed[53] and is the spokesperson for the organization and the "Head of State" of the Nation of Hawaiʻi. The group ceased their occupation in exchange for the return of ceded lands in the adjacent community of Waimānalo, where they established a village, cultural center, and puʻuhonua (place of refuge).[53]

Kanahele made headlines again in 1995 when his group gave sanctuary to Nathan Brown, a Native Hawaiian activist who had refused to pay federal taxes in protest against the US presence in Hawaii. Kanahele was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to eight months in federal prison, along with a probation period in which he was barred from the puʻuhonua and from participation in his sovereignty efforts.[51]

In 2015, Bumpy portrayed himself in the movie Aloha filmed on location in Hawaii at Pu`uhonua o Waimanalo.[54] This was followed by a 2017 episode of Hawaii Five-0 entitled "Ka Laina Ma Ke One (Line in the Sand)".[55]

Edmund Keli'i Silva Jr., who many in Hawaii recognize as king, announced a $2.5bn (£1.6bn) plan to reorganize and restore the Kingdom of Hawaii and published the Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii on October 27, 2003.[56] According to Eugene Bai of Russia Direct, In late September 2015 at the Moscow President Hotel in Russia, a 2 million rubles conference was organized by a Kremlin endowment for military-patriotic activities set up by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conference was for separatist movements around the world including Northern Ireland’s nationalist republican party. Four days before the conference, Lanny Sinkin, representing an "Independent Sovereign State of Hawaii" and Edmund Keli'i Silva Jr. received his invitation and funding for the trip to Moscow. He and the Hawaiian contingency were well received.[57]

Kealoha Pisciotta, a former systems specialist for the joint British-Dutch-Canadian telescope,[58][59] who became concerned that a stone family shrine she had built for her grandmother and family, years earlier, had been removed and found at a dump.[59] She is one of several people who sued to stop the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope[60] and is also director of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou.[61]Mauna Kea Anaina Hou ("People who pray for the mountain",[62]) and its sister group, Mauna Kea Hui, are indigenous, Native Hawaiian, cultural groups with environmental concerns located in the state of Hawaii. The group is described as "Native Hawaiian organization comprised of cultural and lineal descendants, and traditional, spiritual and religious practitioners of the sacred traditions of Mauna Kea."

The issue of cultural rights on the mountain was the focus of the documentary: Mauna Kea — Temple Under Siege which aired on PBS in 2006 and featured Kealoha Pisciotta.[59] The Hawaii State Constitution guarantees the religious and cultural rights of Native Hawaiians.[63] Many of the state of Hawaii's laws can be traced back to Kingdom of Hawaii law. Hawai`i Revised Statute § 1-1 codifies Hawaiian custom and gives deference to native traditions.[64] In the early 1970s, managers of Mauna Kea did not seem to pay much attention to complaints of Native Hawaiians about the sacred nature of the mountain. Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, the Royal Order of Kamehameha I and the Sierra Club, united their opposition to the Keck's proposal of adding six addition outrigger telescopes.[65]

Hayden Burgess, an attorney who goes by the Hawaiian name Poka Laenui, heads the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs.[66] Laenui argues that because of the four international treaties with the United States government (1826, 1849, 1875, and 1883) the "U.S. armed invasion and overthrow" of the Hawaiian monarchy, a "friendly government," was illegal in both American and international jurisprudence.[67]

In 1976, Walter Ritte and the group Protect Kahoolawe Ohana (PKO) filed suit in U.S. Federal Court to stop the Navy's use of Kahoolawe for bombardment training, to require compliance with a number of new environmental laws and to ensure protection of cultural resources on the island. In 1977, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii allowed the Navy's use of this island to continue, but the Court directed the Navy to prepare an environmental impact statement and to complete an inventory of historic sites on the island.

The effort to regain Kaho‘olawe from the U.S. Navy inspired a new political awareness and activism within the Hawaiian community.[68] Charles Maxwell and other community leaders began to plan a coordinated effort to land on the island, which was still under Navy control. The effort for the "first landing" began in Waikapu (Maui) on January 5, 1976. Over 50 people from across the Hawaiian islands, including a range of cultural leaders, gathered on Maui with the goal of "invading" Kahoolawe on January 6, 1976. The date was selected because of its association with the United States' bicentennial anniversary.

As the larger group headed towards the island, they were intercepted by military crafts. "The Kaho‘olawe Nine" continued and successfully landed on the island. They were Ritte, Emmett Aluli, George Helm, Gail Kawaipuna Prejean, Stephen K. Morse, Kimo Aluli, Aunty Ellen Miles, Ian Lind, and Karla Villalba of the Puyallup/Muckleshoot tribe (Washington State).[69] The effort to retake Kaho‘olawe would eventually claims the lives of George Helm and Kimo Mitchell. In an effort to reach Kaho‘olawe, Helm and Mitchell (who were also accompanied by Billy Mitchell, no relation) ran into severe weather and were unable to reach the island. Despite extensive rescue and recovery efforts, they were never recovered. Ritte became a leader in the Hawaiian community, coordinating community efforts including for water rights, opposition to land development, and the protection of marine animals[70] and ocean resources.[70] He now leads the effort to create state legislation requiring the labeling of genetically-modified organisms in Hawai‘i.[71]

David Keanu Sai and Kamana Beamer are two Hawaiian scholars whose works use international law to argue for the rights of a Hawaiian Kingdom existing today and call for an end to US occupation of the islands.[40]:394 Trained as a U.S. military officer, Sai uses the title of Chairman of the Acting Council of Regency of the Hawaiian Kingdom organization.[72] Sai has done extensive historical research, especially on the treaties between Hawaii and other nations, and on military occupation and the laws of war. Dr. Keanu Sai teaches Hawaiian Studies at Windward Community College.[73]

Sai claimed to represent the Hawaiian Kingdom in a case, Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom, brought before the World Court's Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in the Netherlands in December 2000.[74][75] Although the arbitration was agreed to by Lance Paul Larsen and David Keanu Sai, with Larsen suing Sai for not protecting his rights as a Hawaiian Kingdom subject, his actual goal was to have U.S. rule in Hawaii declared in breach of mutual treaty obligations and international law. The arbiters of the case affirmed that there was no dispute they could decide upon, because the United States was not a party to the arbitration. As stated in the award from the arbitration panel, "in the absence of the United States of America, the Tribunal can neither decide that Hawaii is not part of the USA, nor proceed on the assumption that it is not. To take either course would be to disregard a principle which goes to heart of the arbitral function in international law."[76]

In an arbitration hearing before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in December 2000, the Hawaiian flag was raised at the same height at and alongside other countries.[77] However, the court accepts arbitration from private entities and a hearing before the court does not equal international recognition.[78]

Since April 30, 2008, members of a group calling themselves the Hawaiian Kingdom Government have regularly protested on the grounds of ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu. Led by Mahealani Kahau, who has taken the title of "Queen", and Jessica Wright, who has taken the title of "Princess," they have been meeting each day to conduct government business and demand sovereignty for Hawaii and the restoration of the monarchy. They negotiated rights to be on the lawn of the grounds during regular hours normally open to the public by applying for a public-assembly permit.[79]

The Hawaii Independence Party is one of a few non-ethnic groups supporting the independence of Hawaii. It split from the Nation of Hawai'i in 2015. The party is centre-right-winged and holds convervative and libertarian values, such as making Hawaii a banking and trade center for the Pacific Rim.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it.(January 2016)

Cultural practitioner Joshua Lanakila Mangauil, along with Kahoʻokahi Kanuha and Hawaiian sovereignty supporters block the access road to Mauna Kea in October 2014, demonstrating against the building of the Thirty Meter Telescope

Kaiulani Edens-Huff, a KKCR DJ, was suspended (among two other native Hawaiian KKCR DJ's) for an on-air altercation with another Hawaaiian non-native DJ, sparking accusation of racism and protests and an arrest of one of the protestors outside the station.[81][82]

In 1993, the State of Hawai‘i adopted Act 359 “to acknowledge and recognize the unique status the native Hawaiian people bear to the State of Hawaii and to the United States and to facilitate the efforts of native Hawaiians to be governed by an indigenous sovereign nation of their own choosing.” The act created the Hawaiian Sovereignty Advisory Committee to provide guidance with: "(1) Conducting special elections related to this Act; (2) Apportioning voting districts; (3) Establishing the eligibility of convention delegates; (4) Conducting educational activities for Hawaiian voters, a voter registration drive, and research activities in preparation for the convention; (5) Establishing the size and composition of the convention delegation; and (6) Establishing the dates for the special election. Act 200 amended Act 359 establishing the Hawai‘i Sovereignty Elections Council.[87]

Those that were involved with the Advisory Committee forums believed that the question of the political status for Native Hawaiians has become a difficult issue to deal with. However, in 2000 a panel of the committee stated that Native Hawaiians have maintained a unique community. Federal and state programs designated to improve conditions for Native Hawaiians, including health, educational, employment and training, children’s services, conservation programs, fish and wildlife protection, agricultural programs, and native language immersion programs.[87] The Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) was created by Congress in 1921. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) was the result of a 1978 amendment to the Hawai‘i State Constitution and controls over a billion dollars from the Ceded Lands Trust, spending millions to address the needs of Native Hawaiians. Mahealani Kamau‘u, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation states that only in the last 25 years that Native Hawaiians "had a modicum of political empowerment and been able to exercise direct responsibility for their own affairs, that progress has been made in so many areas". These programs have opposition and critics that believe they are not effective and managed badly.[87]

In the past decades, the growing frustration of Native Hawaiians over Hawaiian Homelands as well as the 100 year anniversary of the overthrow, pushed the Hawaiian sovereignty movement to the forefront of politics in Hawaii. In 1993, then President Bill Clinton signed the United States Public Law 103-150, known as the "Apology Bill", for US involvement in the 1893 overthrow. The bill offers a commitment towards reconciliation.[13][88]

US census information shows there were approximately 401,162 Native Hawaiians living within the United States in the year 2000. Sixty percent live in the continental US with forty percent living in the State of Hawaii.[13] Between 1990 and 2000, those people identifying as Native Hawaiian had grown by 90,000 additional people, while the number of those identifying as pure Hawaiian had declined to under 10,000.[13]

Senator Daniel Akaka sponsored a bill in 2009 entitled The Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2009 (S1011/HR2314) which would create the legal framework for establishing a Hawaiian government. The bill was supported by US President Barack Obama.[89] Even though the bill is considered a reconciliation process, it has not had that effect but has instead been the subject of much controversy and political fighting from many arenas. American opponents argue that congress is disregarding US citizens for special interests and sovereignty activists believe this will further erode their rights as the 1921 blood quantum rule of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act had done.[90] In 2011, a governor-appointed committee began to gather and verify names of Native Hawaiians for the purpose of voting on a Native Hawaiian nation.[91]

There has also been opposition against the concept of ancestry-based sovereignty, which critics maintain is tantamount to racial exclusion.[94] In 1996, in Rice v. Cayetano, one Big Island rancher sued to win the right to vote in OHA elections, asserting that every Hawaiian citizen regardless of racial background should be able to vote for a state office, and that limiting the vote to only Native Hawaiians was racist. In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor and OHA elections are now open to all registered voters. In reaching its decision, the court wrote that "the ancestral inquiry mandated by the State is forbidden by the Fifteenth Amendment for the further reason that the use of racial classifications is corruptive of the whole legal order democratic elections seek to preserve....Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality".[95]

The Hawaiian Kingdom Government lands in 1893 were controlled ultimately by the Legislature. Private individuals had no powers, rights or privileges to use government land without Government authorization or to decide how it was to be used. If Hawaiians had any rights or powers regarding Government land, they had only the political right and power to participate in controlling the Government. Most ethnic Hawaiians then had no power to lose; they were a minority in Hawaii and most of them could not even vote. As the term "sovereignty" suggests, what was at stake in 1893 was political power over the government and hence over the Government Lands and the Crown Lands (which had come under control of a government commission in 1865). Legally, the land belonging to the Hawaiian Government in 1898 has passed to the U.S. Government and back to the State of Hawaii.[96]

The year of hearings found most speakers with strong opposition to the United States government's involvement in the Hawaiian sovereignty issue.[97]

On September 29, 2015, the United States Department of the Interior announced a procedure to recognize a Native Hawaiian government.[97][98] The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission was created to find and register Native Hawaiians.[99] The nine member commission with the needed expertise for verifying Native Hawaiian ancestry has prepared a roll of registered individuals of Hawaiian heritage.[100]

The nonprofit organization, Na'i Aupuni will organize the constitutional convention and election of delegates using the roll which began collecting names in 2011. Kelii Akina, Chief Executive Officer of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, filed suit to see the names on the roll and won, finding serious flaws. The Native Hawaiian Roll Commission has since purged the list of names of deceased persons as well as those whose address or e-mails could not be verified.

Akina again filed suit to stop the election because funding of the project comes from a grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and citing a United States Supreme Court case prohibiting the states from conducting race-based elections.[101]

In October 2015, a federal judge declined to stop the process from proceeding. The case was appealed with a formal emergency request to stop the voting until the appeal was heard but the request was denied.[102]

On November 24, the emergency request was made again to Supreme Court JusticeAnthony Kennedy.[103] November 27, Justice Kennedy stopped the election tallying or naming of any delegates. In the United States Supreme Court case, Rice v. Cayetano, Kennedy wrote, "Ancestry can be a proxy for race".

The decision did not stop the voting itself, and a spokesman for the Na'i Aupuni continued to encourage those eligible to vote before the end of the set deadline of November 30, 2015.[104]

The election was expected to have a cost of about $150,000, and voting was carried out by Elections America, a firm based in Washington D.C. The constitutional convention itself has an estimated cost of $2.6 million.[101]

^Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation "Originally named the 'Hawaiian Coalition of Native Claims,' the organization fought against a then-new wave of dispossession from the land to make way for a boom in urban development. Since then, NHLC has worked steadily to establish Native Hawaiian rights jurisprudence."